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She notes that the project has helped these farmers diversify and
increase profits.
Approximately 50 percent of those in the program are traditional
cattle ranchers, while the remaining 50 percent are small-scale
bean and corn farmers. Fol lowing international standards for
environmental best practices, Yanira provides ongoing assistance
regarding the health, nutrition and monitoring of the fruit plantations,
which include primarily citrus fruits, but alsomango and rambutan. She
also promotes the planting of forestry species on the farms to build
environmental awareness and address the urgent need for
reforestation in this region.
“The first test harvest last year was very positive. The corn and bean
farmers have benefited a great deal from this program and have
seen much higher incomes by adding the fruit trees to their crop
mix. The cattle farmers are also pleased because the income has
helped to offset lower cattle prices.”
One of the most forested regions of Guatemala and home to the
Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén’s natural beauty is under increased
threat. In recent years, cattle farmers relocating to Petén from the
Southern coast of Guatemala have cleared large tracts of forest and
high unemployment, drug trafficking and a large Central American
immigrant population are compounding the problems in this region.
“Every day, I try to contribute my grain of sand to solving these
problems. Through the recommendations we make to farmers, we
are helping. We are helping them produce better and increase their
income and the fruit trees are creating a source of employment as
more people are hired to care for the trees. The trees themselves
also provide an important environmental benefit,” Yanira notes.
As June 5th approached, the scheduled date of EARTH’s global tree
planting event, Yanira told her husband, EARTH alumnus José Luis
Méndez (’02, Guatemala), that she couldn’t let the date go by
without using it as an opportunity to teach their three children an
important environmental lesson.
Yanira saw EARTH
Plants the Future
as an opportunity to promote environmental awareness
among her children and their friends.